This Present Darkness
by America's Roast Beef Yes Sir
Summary: -Sequel to The Dehumanizing Process.- Katara helps a petrified local village that is fighting against virus-infected humans lurking around the dark forest.
1. Boar

_(Disclaimer: Avatar does not belong to me, myself, nor I.)_

**This Present Darkness...**

**1  
Boar**

Darkness. Complete darkness. She sat there and waited for the sun to come up. She slept, but there was no sleeping. All she did was just lay there... eyes, and ears, open. The shadows on the tent reminded her of those gruesome-looking _things_... The more she found out about them, the more she thought the world was turning into a scary story. There was no thinking to be done... only watching. Watching for any movements, hearing for any sounds, and making sure that none of them come her way.

She was in the Li Mei Forest. The objective was to get to a local village as fast as she could, but the "infected" roamed the forest. They were nocturnal, which was probably why they died out at that medical camp. She didn't want to think about the medical camp or the hostage cave; the last two places she thought she'd ever be at.

She found a name for those things. **Ants.** She thought that word was short for Anthanicitis, which made it perfect. She got the tent from the medical camp, just before she left, and also packed some food and water. _Plenty of fruits_, she contemplated.

It was almost dawn. She felt a little more relaxed. Her eyes were tired. Her head was unclear. She let out a very long yawn. Then slowly, very slowly... she fell into a deep sleep.

-

Loud scurrying from the outside forced her eyes to pop wide open. It took a second or two to remember where she was, then she opened her ears. More scurrying... it was getting closer. Katara started to breathe heavier. She tucked her knees into her chest, hugging herself. _Please... let the sun rise..._

The waterbender didn't want to be afraid anymore.

A distinct shadow formed in front of her tent. Suddenly, a shade of orange light began rising. She looked up at the tent walls, watching the distinct shadow circle around the tent.

The shade of light grew bigger, and soon turned into a tangerine color. The shadow let out a long growl, then abruptly left the scene... the occupier let out a soft whimper. She waited inside the tent until it was completely filled with light outside.

Around high noon, she got out of the tent, and looked around. She was petrified... stray red marks were stained all over the tent. She pulled herself together, packed her tent into the knapsack, and gethered her belongings. She left on foot and went towards a dirt path that led straight through the innards of the forest... she was one-hundred-and-ten percent sure that no Ants roamed the outside world during daytime.

But where else would the Ants be? That question was what scared her the most. The infected ventured around in the darkness, looking for any food that lay around the forest. She knew that Ants didn't consume any humans or complex animals... but they did eat meat and lots of it. She had seen many bloody footprints engraved into dirth paths that she had walked on.

The waterbender focused on the path. Out of nowhere, a fork erupted from the path. She noticed a torn sign on the ground. She picked it up. Tiny critters underneath the sign scattered away. She read it...

BOAR VILLAGE.  
SOUTHWEST FORK.

South was exactly the direction that she wanted to go to. South led out of this eerie forest. She followed the fork, going towards the village. _Warn the local villages,_ she remembered. Warn _a_ local village. Let them warn everyone else...

She hoped that disaster didn't strike the direction she was heading towards. Boar village... it sounded like a terrifying village to the waterbender. She hadn't seen many titled villages in her life, besides the water tribes and the cities in the Earth Kingdom.

Her stomache growled. She hadn't eaten any real food in days... just fruits and grains. She opened the canteen and drank the remaining sips left in the canteen. The place she was heading to hopefully had clean water. The waterbender was running scarce on food, too. She scurried through her bag... only two apples remained.

It has been nearly three days since her depart from the medical camp; two weeks since her visit at the torture facility; and three and a half weeks since she last saw Aang, Sokka, Toph, Appa, and Momo. As the waterbender walked down the path, she fell into a trance...

_The four of them were camping out at a clearing today. Sokka tried several attempts to make fire out of the handy wood, finally succeeding, as Aang set up the tent. Toph, as usual, lay next to Appa inside her makeshift rock tent. Appa sat next to the warm fire as Momo wandered around Appa's saddle. _

The waterbender thought of herself just sitting on a soft patch of grass, watching the gang enjoy their leisure time.

_She looked up at the clear sky, watching small clouds drift on the light shade of blue. She smiled._

_"Hey, Katara!" Sokka called out. "I know you're enjoying whatever you're doing right now, but could you help set up camp?"_

She smiled. It was the first time she smiled in a long time. When she reunites with Sokka, she'll hug him and never let go. She'd even hug Toph. She'd hug Momo and pet Appa for hours.

This experience made her open her eyes; and just comtemplate the past, which kept her going through these macabre three-and-a-half weeks. She wouldn't hug them... she'd hold them. She'd feel warmth wrap around her body. She'd rest her head on her brother's shoulder as she thought of nothing but her friends.

The waterbender hoped that once she reunited with her friends, she would forget about this disasterous shit-awful situation. But, she knew that it would be impossible. The scars that were scattered throughout the bender's body would take a long time to fade away, and it wouldn't fade any time soon.

-

She concentrated on the path ahead of her. The waterbender finally reached the village gates, which were torn up and hanging from its hinges. She stopped right in front of the gates.

Are the Ants here?

_No_, she attempted to comfort herself. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she entered the village, desperately looking around. No one was in sight. She entered the market row. It looked like a deserted village. But, it wasn't...

Out of nowhere, eight men jumped out of the abandoned market stalls and surrounded the waterbender, yielding spears that were pointed towards her body. She froze in fear.

"Is she infected?" a man managed to say.

A different warrior lowered his spear, encouraging others to do the same.

"No," the warrior said. "She isn't."

"What is your name?" a man holding a spear yelled out to the woman, keeping a distance. Everything was silent. The sky was silent. The forest was silent. The eight men were silent. Everything was silent as the world tuned in to listen to her.

The waterbender spoke, "...Katara."


	2. Let Go

**2  
Let Go**

Katara looked down at the dusty ground of the village. She felt the eight men's eyes looking right at her, staring her down; looking for something...

"She's alright," the warrior said. "She's okay."

The warrior slowly walked towards Katara. "Do you have water?" he asked, looking down at her canteen.

"What?" she asked.

Without an answer, one of the eight men tossed the warrior a filled canteen, which he held out for Katara to take. "Here." She hesitated, and finally took the canteen. "Are you wounded?"

Katara shook her head.

"Have you come in contact with the infected?" asked the warrior.

She nodded.

The warrior looked down, just like the way she did. "All right. My name is Zen. Follow me. You're completely famished."

Katara followed the warrior over to a chair that was only a few steps away from her original position.

"Take a seat," said Zen.

The waterbender rested her legs and took a seat on the chair. The other eight men gathered around her.

"Let me tell you what's been going on," Zen explained. "Many of our villagers are infected. We are only a handful of people remaining in this village, and possibly this whole forest. We've been attacked by the infected throughout the entire day. However, you are in our safety. These men are strong and capable with any weapon they yield. Nevertheless, we are in small numbers."

Katara wanted to drink out of the canteen, but she felt sick...

Zen looked around. "If you're wondering where our villagers are, they're in the tents... where it's warm. But they are very weak. They haven't consumed any real food in a while and we are unable to go in such a dangerous forest. We can only take small trips at high noon... but they sleep in the deep realms of the forest. Sunlight these days is very scarce." Zen noticed Katara's bag. "Do you have any food?"

The waterbender rummaged through her bag, only finding an apple. Knowing that one apple wouldn't do any good, she shook her head to his question.

"Do you know much about where the virus came from?" a merchant asked from the eight-man crowd.

Katara shook her head again, lying.

"Son of a bitch," a man yelled in the crowd, who looked like another merchant. "I'm sick of this shit. Let's just get out of this forest for everyone's sake!"

"Quasi!" Zen yelled at the merchant. "Watch your language... we're all tired of this village. How can we make a mass evacuation in a short time? All of you need to pull yourselves together..."

He looked at Katara, then back at the 8-man crowd. "It's that time of the day again."

-

Quasi, Zen, Tiachi, and Zoko, the four men who went into the forest, are rummaging through the innards of the deep, looking for food before the Infected could get to it.

"Hey, Zen," Quasi yelled out. "What do you think we should call these things?"

"Ants," he immediately responded.

"Why?"

"Because if you don't keep looking for food, they'll get to it!" he harshly responded.

All four men yielded spears; Tiachi had the bag for all of the food... if they could find some. Suddenly, Zoko yelled out.

"Hey, guys!" Zoko yelled. "I found an apple tree!"

Zen rushed over to Zoko, finding him already picking the fruits of the tree's branches. "Come on, help me!"

"Wait..." cautioned Zen. He looked around the trunk of the tree, looking for any marks. Suddenly, he stepped into a field of rotten apples. The Infected were here. "Make sure you don't take any apples off of the ground."

Zoko was bewildered. "What?"

"Don't take them from the ground!" he said once more. "The Ants eat off of it."

Zoko was still confused... "When you say 'Ants', do you mean the Infected?"

"Yes!" Zen yelled, mad at his carelessness. "Now, high-tail the apples back to Tiachi and put them in the basket before you drop 'em."

Zoko ran off towards the basket. Zen rubbed his eyes in exhaustion.

-

The men were finishing up getting food. Zen approached Tiachi.

"What do we got?" Zen asked.

"It's fruits galore, boss," Tiachi answered in a loud voice.

Zen sighed. "Oh, well... at least it's food."

Unanticipatedly, yelps were filling the dark air. Zen and Tiachi were all ears.

"Help! Help! Get me out of here!"

"Zoko?" called out Tiachi.

Zoko appeared in front of them, eating an apple he picked from the tree. "What?" He then heard the calling.

"Oh, no..." Zen dashed off towards an unknown place. Tiachi and Zoko attempted to follow him. They swung passed branches, logs, and dead weeds, and finally arrived at their destination where the 'helps' were being heard at the loudest.

"Help!"

The scene was horrible. Quasi slipped and fell into the Ant's Nest. He was covered with dirt and twigs.

"I'm here!" Zen yelled. He paced to and fro. "Look for a stick or something down there! I'll do the same up here!"

Quasi desperately nodded. He ventured along the the boundaries of the steep slope, but not too far into the forest.

"What is this place?" Tiachi asked Zen, bumping into him several times as the warrior passed by him.

"This is where the infected sleep," Zen abruptly answered. That answer made Zoko and Tiachi looking for long sticks.

"I found one!" Quasi yelled, holding a tremendously long wooden stick.

He held it up high, trying to sway it towards Zen, who was crouching down and trying to get a hold of it. He finally got a good hold of the stick, and gripped it hard. Tiachi supported Zen as Zoko stood by and gazed towards the foggy innards of the Nest.

"Climb up!" the warrior yelled. Quasi got good footing into the soil of the steep slope and made his way up, holding the stick to his side. Zen held the stick tight as Tiachi slightly tugged at his waist.

Quasi was about to reach the top.

"Good," Zen said.

Suddenly, two disfigured hands grabbed both of Quasi's legs, trying to bring him back down to the Nest's surface. Quasi screamed for his life.

"Don't let go!" Zen yelled, swiftly gripping the stick so tight that blood started to ooze out the sides of his hands. Tiachi tugged at Zen's waist. The Infected man growled and roared, trying to bring down his prey.

Zoko, taking action, realized that the Ant was close enough to kill. He grabbed his spear, got a good angle at it, and stabbed the Infected man into its side, making the Ant scream. Blood hissed out of his side as the Ant finally let go of Quasi's legs and let him climb up topside and back to safety.

Quasi finally arrived up back to safety. Zen finally let go of the stick as he lay on the forest floor, exhausted. He winced in pain as he looked at his hands. They were bloody and blistered.

"Man..." Zen said in pain, "Wash this blood off, fast."

"You'll be alright, boss," Quasi reassured Zen. "I got that stick off a tree branch."

Tiachi took action and wrapped a rag around each of Zen's palms. "But you just had to pick the roughest, hard-edged stick out of them all." Quasi shrugged, and Zen chuckled.

"Let's get back to the village," said Zoko. "The villagers will be happy with all of the fruits we got."

-

-

_[A/N: If you are confused about any part of the story, you should probably skim through the previous installment that was before this. Go to my bio to check it out._


	3. The Strange Things that Darkness Brings

_(Original disclaimer posted on Chapter One.)_

**3  
Strange Things that Darkness Brings**

They all looked at Katara.

The other four men looked at the waterbender like she was the first woman they had ever seen. They started pointing at the girl, making comments and examining her body. Katara held on to every straw of sanity she had left, ignoring the men. One of the men whispered into the other's ear.

"21?" the man, a merchant, replied, smirking. "You're about ready for some action."

"Vulgar," another, presumably another warrior, said. "You're messed up. Now wonder you're not married."

"I'm eighteen, asshole," the merchant rebutted. "I'm not old enough."

"Whatever," the warrior said.

The man once again whispered into the vulgar man's ear, making him chuckle. The man stepped up and walked towards Katara.

"How old are you, sweetheart?" the merchant asked.

She had to answer. What would they do? "Old enough."

The merchant glanced back at the three men and raised an eyebrow. "Sure don't look like it."

Katara looked away. Suddenly, the man grabbed the waterbender and flopped her over, making her bend over the chair. The other three men sat back and watched as he began to take advantage of the female.

"Let go of me!" yelled Katara, trying to get her hands free, but the man on her was too strong. He tried to grab one of her wrists, but Katara forcefully bent the opposite direction, refusing any contact. The man, out of anger, slapped her, putting more pressure on his two hands that held down Katara. She squirmed and struggled, wanting the merchant to hit her even more.

The waterbender could hear the other three men laughing out of pathetic remorse as the merchant began to humiliate the defenseless waterbender, slapping and violating her.

"What the fuck is going on?" A voice erupted at the far side of the village. The four men quickly assembled. The merchant that was abusing the waterbender quickly joined the others.

Zen walked parallel against Quasi as Tiachi and Zoko stood on either side of him. Zoko put the basket of fruits down on a nearby chair as they proceeded towards the other four men. "What the hell is going on here?" Zen exclaimed. "You four, get those fruits into the tents."

The four men past by Zen, when suddenly he called out to one of them. "Ivy!" It was the merchant's name. "Next time I see you abuse a captive... you're gone." Zen walked towards Katara.

Captive? Katara was considered a captive by them. She assumed that 'captive' necessarily wasn't a bad thing. She was in the hands of someone's protection.

"There isn't much time," Katara announced, making the warrior open his ears.

"What do you mean?" Zen questioned.

"The virus could reach places outside Li Mei Forest," the waterbender explained.

"That's impossible!" Quasi said, letting out a desparate laugh. "All they need are food, and they've got plenty of it in the forest."

"But they're running out fast," Katara straightened. "They eat and eat during the night. I've seen them with my own eyes." The waterbender reached over to her folded tent and tossed it to the ground in front of Zen, revealing dark blood stains all over it. "If the forest has plenty of food, then why were these things stalking me?"

Zen studied the folded tent, then looked up at the waterbender. "Do you really know where these things came from?"

The origin of the Ants is a blur for Katara. She couldn't just say the fire nation scientists were responsible for this virus... that would give them too much credit. But like every virus, it mutates.

"No," Katara replied. "It's man-made, though."

The warrior scratched his head, looking back at the tent, and then towards Quasi. "What do you think?"

"Doesn't matter what I think," answered Quasi. "These things are still attacking us. We should leave the forest no matter what. There's no excuse for the fact that we're sitting ducks."

Zen shook his head. "There has to be something we can do."

Fighting was the only option at Boar Village. The people were sick, and the reason of the sickness was unknown. It could be lack of medicine, and proper supplies. But the men and Katara had to reach the outside... somehow, some way.

It was the dead of night. A small fire sat at the center of the village where the newly entitled soldiers gathered around it. The silhouetted figures in the forest were watching, waiting for them to make a mistake. The booby traps that were set around the village were too smart for the Ants to handle. A single clinging noise heard could mean a mass army of Ants swarming their way.

Beside the eight "soldiers" were spears and daggers all lined up like a marching band. Katara was near the dark end of the village, regaining the muscle in her arms by practicing her bending. But she wasn't bending... she was thinking. She swayed the small water puddle up and down, in countless intervals. Was this truly her fate: to sit here and waste away like there's nothing to do, nothing to redeem? She heard the men laughing and chattering in the distance.

Suddenly, Katara shutters. Rustling is heard in front of her. A low growl... the waterbender quickly shuffles her arms and stands up, making the dirt below her scatter. She walked backward towards the fire where the eight men sat.

Zen quickly noticed the waterbender's actions... she slowly backed away from the interpreted danger zone.

"What is it?" Zen whispered to Katara, making the others turn his direction. The waterbender began to breathe heavily.

"Stay away from the dark," said Quasi. "There's a reason to be afraid of the dark." Zoko raised an eyebrow and looked over at Tiachi. His eyes were glued to Katara

"Okay," Zoko forced a laugh out.

Katara was within Zen's distance. He reached over and touched the waterbender's leg, making her flinch. "Take a seat. You're safer with us."

She surruptitiously joined the group. Dozens of things crawled down her back, freezing her spine. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. If there was a reason to be afraid of the dark, it was this. How can you be so sure that nothing is watching you?

A red-nosed owl cried in the distance.

"It's this time of day that makes me wonder if I made the right decision," Zen announced, observing the spear that laid on his lap. "If whether or not staying here was safe, or whether or not leaving the forest was safer."

"It's not too late to change your answer, boss," Tiachi replied.

"People are already dead," Zen automatically answered. "The forest is swarming with Ants."

Katara deserved a little background info on these eight men. In fact, this entire village is being destroyed from behind. The psychological torture that the waterbender imagines must rip these soldiers into shreds. These guys really are sitting ducks...

"Man," Zoko groaned. "It's just a matter of time before they pick us off one by one."

A cling is heard in the distance. The soldiers equip with their spears and quickly volt into a defensive position. Katara shimmied towards the caboose of their defense line. Suddenly, scurrying is heard. The men remain in this position for many minutes.

The suspense was at its highest point. Then, approaching the front gate was a silhouetted figure. The men proved themselves worthy of their new title. The figure then showed its face.

"Relax," Zen announced. "It's another traveler."

"Get this guy some water!" Quasi yelled at Tiachi.

The man, who was a little taller than Katara, limped on his right leg. "That trap... it really stings..." he managed to say. Tiachi poured cool water on the side of the man's left leg, soothing it. As the man approached the group of soldiers, his face was fully visible. This man was a boy... looking at the same age as the waterbender.

"Sorry about that trap," Zen said, giving the boy a chair. "What's your name?"

"Chang," the boy responded.

"How the... how did you make it here in the night?" asked the stunned Quasi. "Those things are nocturnal. It's impossible to venture out there in the forest."

"To be honest," Chang said, "I have no idea what the heck you're talking about."

Zen looked over at the others, who were as bewildered as he was. "How old are you, exactly?"

"Fourteen," he answered.

"I'd expect a fourteen year-old to be a little scared to be roaming around the darkness like that."

"I'm not afraid of the dark," Chang answered. "Besides, I know my way around."

Zen approached Quasi, "I don't understand..." he whispered.

"He doesn't know what's been happening in the forest," Quasi informed him. "It's obvious that he's an outsider."

"That, I can believe," Zen stated, "But what I can't believe is that he was able to venture across the forest without being touched and possibly even sensed."

The soldiers rested and interrogated, at the same time. Chang was a boy to be studied... he didn't know what was happening in the Li Mei Forest, hence he isn't a native to the forest.

"What are you doing here?" asked Zen.

This was the first time that the boy showed any real emotion. "My village has been assigned a very strict curfew by the fire nation. My parents sent me here to look for anybody that can help us lift it and drive the fire nation out. They're real amateurs, and-"

"Hush!" Quasi yelled out of intimidation, trying to think. "Katara, lead Chang into one of the tents where he can rest. Leave us in peace so we can take a moment to think this out."

"Think what out?" Chang asked.

"Go!"

Katara automatically went to Chang and introduced herself.

"I'm not from around here, either."


End file.
